You have isolated and purified a new species of cells from the rain forest and you want to place this new species in the appropriate branch of the tree of life. You sequence the ribosomal RNA genes from these cells and discover that for one particular region of the ribosomal gene (the rRNA) the RNA sequence is AAUGAAGG. You have sequences from the same region of the ribosomal genes (the rRNA) from each of these species: bacteria, eukaryote and archaea, which are listed below.
Bacteria AUAGAUGG
Eukaryote AAAGAAGG
Archaea AAUGGAGU
Based on these sequence results, to which branch of the tree of life should you assign this new species?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The new species has a RNA sequence of AAUGAAGG, which is identical to the RNA sequence from the eukaryote, but different from the RNA sequences from bacteria and archaea. Therefore, the new species should be assigned to the eukaryote branch of the tree of life.

You Have Isolated and Purified a New Species of Cells